Everybody needs a friend! Even the national parks need friends. As part of the National Park Week, today marks Friendship Friday.

The national parks need our time by volunteering and our donations to help continue these great treasures. You can help by supporting one of more than 200 philanthropic organizations that partner with national parks nationwide. In addition, many national parks have nonprofit associations linked to them. In addition, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of our national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service.

Take a moment to check out one of these friend organizations of the national parks today! Click here for a directory of these organizations.

Earth Day is a global celebration encouraging education and stewardship of the planet’s natural resources. This year celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!

Take a moment and go online to learn about how we can protect our only planet. Click here to learn more about earth sciences. Click here to learn about the leave no trace principles at our parks. For kids, become a junior explorer today by clicking here!

National Park Week brings us to Wild Wednesday today! Embrace the wild side of the parks!

To celebrate this day, go wild! You can go on a hike in the wilderness; check out some local wildlife; enjoy some wildflowers; check out the night wild skies; or learn about the wild within the national parks online.

Enjoy some wild photos from last summer at the Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park.

National parks share the stories of transportation throughout the United States. From the railroads promoting the visitation of national parks out West to the many scenic roads and parkways that exist today.

Today, the national parks work to reduce congestion with park buses to transport visitors around. People can bicycle many national parks as well.

Enjoy this brief overview that discusses transportation system infrastructure the NPS manages and the benefits of transportation to and within parks. Click here to see the video.

Take a moment and think about transportation from the past, present, and future options within these national parks.

As part of the National Park Week, today is Military Monday. Today, we recognize and honor the service and sacrifice of the U.S. military and also discover connections and opportunities within the parks.

The National Park Service preserves and shares the stories of the American military over the last three centuries. The relationship between the national parks and our military goes way back. The U.S. Cavalry served as the first park rangers at our first national park, Yellowstone National Park. Hundreds of soldiers were stationed at Fort Yellowstone.

During World War II, many parks served as training and care locations for military personnel. Today, dozens of national parks commemorate military battles and achievements.

As you plan your next trip, discover the people who have protected our freedom here in America and learn about the places that shaped our military history and culture.

To honor today, take a minute and appreciate the the service and sacrifice of our military here.